By Brian Trompeter
Add Fairfax County supervisors to the growing fan club of George C. Marshall High School senior Ilia Malinin, aka the “Quad God.”
Malinin, whom Time magazine last year named one of its “Next 100,” last October at age 17 became the first and only athlete successfully to land a quadruple Axel jump in competition.
(The jump is named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen.) At the end of January this year, he won the U.S. Figure Skating Championship.
Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence), who on March 7 read the board’s resolution honoring Malinin, said she had followed his career and been impressed not only by his athletic skill but also his “thoughtfulness, the way you reflect on your performance and are always striving to do even better.”
She added, “You are absolutely honored and respected not just by your colleagues and those who came before you, and whose footsteps you continue to grow, but as you land these quadruple Axels, you want to go even farther. You truly are the future of our county.”
Malinin, now 18, began figure skating in 2010 under the guidance of his parents, former Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, and started entering competitions five years later. Among his victories were the 2022 World Juniors, 2021 Junior Grand Prix France and 2021 Grand Prix Austria.
“Ilia Malinin has been called ‘America’s next great skater’ and many in the sport have suggest that a quintuple jump is in his future – no pressure!” Palchik said.
Physics is Malinin’s favorite class at Marshall High, “so he’s got me beat at every level,” she added.
Malinin lives in Hunter Mill District and Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) said the skater was “giving back in ways you probably don’t even realize.”
“You’re going to have a legacy here for a long time, like Alex Ovechkin did for ice hockey,” said Supervisor Patrick Herrity (R-Springfield) told Malinin. “I believe your feat is going to lead to a lot of new figure skaters here in Fairfax County that follow you, because you skate at our local rinks.”
Herrity added, “Anytime I do four spins on the ice, it’s usually because somebody’s hit me when I’m playing ice hockey and it’s usually not in the air. So I can’t imagine going around four times in the air and landing it.”
Supervisor Penelope Gross (D-Mason) also was astounded by Malinin’s quadruple Axel.
“I’m tempted to ask you to turn around and see if you have wings, because that may be the only way that most people can even conceive of what you have accomplished,” she said.
Gross credited Malinin’s parents for their efforts and recalled how former Board of Supervisors Chairman (now U.S. Rep.) Gerald Connolly (D) sometimes would groan about how early in the morning he had to take his daughter to skating practice.
“Any parent whose child or children have a dream . . . knows how much effort has to go into just what the family support is going to be,” she said. “Those early mornings or late nights or travels are really so important for the development of the youth athletes.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) said his daughter, a dancer, keenly appreciated how difficult Malinin’s athletic feats were. Good genes no doubt have boosted Malinin’s prospects, but even his former Olympian parents cannot fully fathom executing a quadruple Axel, he said.
“The amount of pride that we had in Fairfax County that one of our own is on the national and international stage the way you are makes us all so proud as a community,” McKay said. “You have a gift and a talent and I know you’ve worked really hard to get where you are. We’re going to be following you and cheering you on every step of the way.”
Malinin thanked the board for its support.
“This means so much to me,” he said. “I have put a lot of work and effort into trying to get where I am.”
Malinin thanked his parents for taking him to those early morning practices. Roman Skorniakov in turn thanked Marshall High teachers for their support and understanding, given the school days his son has had to miss.
Skorniakov attributed his son’s success to his high level of motivation and willingness to innovate.
“He’s not afraid to try new things,” he said.
